ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Railways
Indian Railways closes the year with record freight loading and earnings in the month of March 2021 
In the month of March 2021, Indian Railways loading was 122.19 million tonnes which sees the growth of 24%
In this period Indian Railways earned Rs. 116634.9 crores from freight loading 3% higher compared to last year’s earnings
(Despite the Covid challenges, Indian Railways closed the year with record freight loading and earnings.
In the closing month of this fiscal year 2020-21, Indian Railways surpassed the last year’s loading that is 1224.45 compared to last year’s 1205.04 which shows the growth of 2%. Indian Railways earned 116634.9 from freight loading compared to last year’s earning 113477.9 which sees the growth of 3%.
In the month of March 2021, Indian Railways’ loading was 122.19 million tonnes which has seen the growth of 24% compared to last year’s loading for the same month that was 98.76. In this month, Indian Railways earned Rs. 12137.22 Crores from freight loading which is also 24% higher compared to last year’s earnings for the same month .
On day to day basis, as on 31st March, 2021 , the freight loading of Indian Railways was 3.24 million tonnes, which is 35% higher compare to last year’s loading for the same date . On this date, Indian Railways earned 364.92 crores which is also 53% higher compared to last year’s earnings for the same date .
Despite the many challenges put in by Covid, Indian Railways continued to register a steady growth in its freight loading and earning.
Offering of concessions/discounts in Indian Railways are among the factors attributed to this achievement.
It may be noted that improvements in freight movements will be institutionalized and incorporated in the upcoming zero based time table.
Indian Railways turned this calamity into an opportunity to improve all round efficiencies and performances.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Adequate Availability of Fertilizers across States during Rabi Season 2018-19
States are requested to ensure timely and uniform distribution within the State: Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda
“The possibility of any kind of shortage of Fertilizers is ruled out and all the States will get the best possible support from Department of Fertilizers  in terms of timely availability of fertilizers including Urea”, said Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda here today, while informing about adequate availability of fertilizers across States during Rabi Season 2018-19.
The Minister said that availability of fertilizers has remained comfortable in the country in the ongoing Rabi season. In case of urea, as on date, against the pro-rata requirement of 21.33 LMT for the month of December’18, the availability across the country is 25.06 LMT. Further, urea production in various plants is as per the target. At the same time,urea produced is being moved proactively as per the supply plan to each nook and corner of the country to fulfil the field demand, Shri Gowda added.
In addition to indigenous urea, there is nearly one million tonne of imported urea at various ports  and more than a million tonne of imported urea is expected to arrive in the months of December’18 and January’19, the Minister informed.
Keeping in view the peak phase of urea consumption, especially in the States like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab etc, the Department of Fertilizers, in coordination with Ministry of Railways, has already accorded priority to urea movement from both the ports of West coast & East Coast. “We are getting full support from the Railways in terms of timely availability of rakes both at plants and ports”, Shri Gowda said.
The Minister further informed that the Department of Fertilizers is in regular touch with the respective State Governments at the level of Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary  and senior State agriculture officers and monitoring the situation on day-to-day basis. “The Department of Fertilizers is fully geared up to address the field demand across all the States and any kind of emergent issues. However, at the same time the States are requested to ensure timelyand uniform distribution within the State, so that the farmer get the fertilizers on time”, Shri Gowda said.
The Minister reiterated that the situation is being monitored on hourly basis for all the States by the concerned officials of DoF, Railways and State Governments. Further all the Urea suppliers have been advised to move the inventory on top most priority to address the field demand.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Health Ministry requests MCI to extend last date for PG medical admissions
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has requested Medical Council of India  to consider extension of the last date for PG medical admission in States from 18th May to 31 May, 2019 to fill up the remaining vacant seats in the academic session 2019-20.
As per the time schedule notified by Medical Council of India, the last date for filling up of Post Graduate Medical seats by the States is 18th May, 2019. The Ministry is in receipt of representations from Institutions / State Governments for extending the last date for filling up of vacant PG medical seats beyond 18th May, 2019 and upto 31st May, 2019.
The Health Ministry has thus requested the Board of Governors , MCI to examine the matter and make suitable recommendations. The BoG is meeting today to consider the matter.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Jain University clinch Khelo India University Games championship, Siva Sridhar reigns supreme
The Khelo India University Games 2021 concluded today with the men and women kabaddi finals, drawing the curtain on 10 days of high octane sporting action.
The hosts Jain University ensured that there would be no complications to their grasp on the title, sealing it a day in advance courtesy Priya Mohan's exploits on the track and two gold in Karate . They ended up with 20 golds, three more than their closest competitors Lovely Professional University . While LPU ended up with the most medals of any university in the competition, their gold deficit saw them lose the title to the hosts. Defending champions Panjab University finished third .
The Games were also a great example of the growth and improvement in this level of competition since its last edition. In total 97KIUG records were broken or equalled at KIUG 2021. A mind boggling 42 were in weightlifting, 28 came in the pool, while 23came in athletics. Two national records were also broken in the competition — Siva Sridhar setting a new mark in the Men's 200m Individual Medley and MT Ann Mariya breaking the clean and jerk record in the women' weightlifting +87kg class.
Sridhar was the runaway athlete of the Games, winning 7 golds and two silvers in the competition. The swimmer also set a new KIUG mark with each gold he won in the pool. Swimmer Shrungi Bandekar four gold and one silver make her the most successful female athlete at the games. Priya Mohan's 200m, 400m double secured her spot as the most dominant athlete on the track.
Results 
KABADDI
Men: Final: University Of Kota bt Ch Bansi Lal University, Bhiwani 52-37; Bronze medal: Dr CV Raman University, Guru Nanak Dev University.
Women: Final: Kurukshetra University bt Maharshi Dayanand University 46-19; Bronze medals: Himachal Pradesh University, Savitribai Phule Pune University.
FOOTBALL
Men
Final: MG University 2 bt University Of Kerala 0; Bronze medal: University of Calicut, Panjab University.
President's Secretariat
President of India pays homage to Neelam Sanjiva Reddy on his Birth Anniversary
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, paid homage to Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, former President of India, at Rashtrapati Bhavan today  on his Birth Anniversary. The President, officers and staff of Rashtrapati Bhavan paid floral tributes in front of a portrait of Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
Cabinet approves Extension of tenure of the Commission constituted under Article 340 of the constitution to examine the issue of sub-categorization within Other Backward Classes in the Central List
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the extension of the term of the Commission to examine the issue of Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes, by 6 months i.e. upto 31.1.2021.
Impact including employment generation potential:
The Communities in the existing list of OBCs which have not been able to get any major benefit of the scheme of reservation for OBCs for appointment in Central Government posts and for admission in Central Government Educational Institutions are expected to be benefitted upon implementation of the recommendations of the Commission. The Commission is likely to make recommendations for benefit of such marginalized communities in the Central List of OBCs.
Expenditure:
The expenditure involved are related to the establishment and administration costs of the Commission, which would continue to be borne by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Benefits:
All persons belonging to the castes/communities which are included in the Central List of SEBCs but which have not been able to get any major benefit of the existing scheme of reservation for OBCs in Central Government posts & for admission in Central Government Educational Institutions would be benefitted.
Implementation schedule:
Orders for extension of the term of the Commission and addition in its Terms of Reference will be notified in the Gazette in the form of an Order made by the President, after receipt of the approval of the Hon'ble President to the same.
Background:
The Commission was constituted under article 340 of the Constitution with the approval of President on 2nd October, 2017. The Commission, headed by Justice  Smt. G. Rohini commenced functioning on 11th October, 2017 and has since interacted with all the States/UTs which have subcategorized OBCs, and the State Backward Classes Commissions. The Commission has come to the view that it would require some more time to submit its report since the repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription etc. appearing in the existing Central List of OBCs need to be cleared. Hence the Commission had sought extension of its term, up to 31st July 2020. However, due to the nationwide lockdown and restrictions on travel imposed on account of COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission was not able to go perform the task assigned to it. Therefore, the term of the Commission is being extended for a period of 6 more months i.e. up to 31.1.2021.
Ministry of Rural Development
Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Grameen Kaushal Yojana in North Eastern Region
The Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Grameen Kaushal Yojana , which is a placement linked skill development program for rural poor youth in the age group of 15-35 years, is being implemented by the Government since September, 2014. DDU-GKY guidelines provide for earmarking 50% of the funds for SCs and STs and 15% for minorities. Further, one third beneficiaries of the respective categories under the scheme should be women.
DDU-GKY has helped youth from poor rural families in accessing free of cost skilling program. DDU-GKY has been providing skilling options in 616 job roles till now as per the aspirations of rural youth and imparting required and relevant skills to rural youth. DDU-GKY provides for placement of minimum 70% of trained candidates providing them with jobs having regular monthly wages.
The details of performance in the North East is as given below:
|
|
Cumulative performance of NE States under DDUGKY from 2014-15 till Feb 2022
|
|
Sl. No.
|
|
North Eastern States
|
|
Cumulative performance
|
|
Funds Released
|
|
Trained
|
|
Placed
|
|

|
|
1
|
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
|
138
|
|
43
|
|
2564.462
|
|
2
|
|
Assam
|
|
54319
|
|
33126
|
|
37206.610
|
|
3
|
|
Manipur
|
|
2958
|
|
1049
|
|
7169.791
|
|
4
|
|
Meghalaya
|
|
2633
|
|
1197
|
|
5295.093
|
|
5
|
|
Mizoram
|
|
783
|
|
461
|
|
2681.588
|
|
6
|
|
Nagaland
|
|
2323
|
|
901
|
|
6712.146
|
|
7
|
|
Sikkim
|
|
920
|
|
414
|
|
2131.245
|
|
8
|
|
Tripura
|
|
6860
|
|
4210
|
|
7081.403
Ministry of Rural Development has not made any specific study on the performance of DDU-GKY for North Eastern Region. However, NITI Aayog has conducted an evaluation of National Rural Livelihoods Mission and DDU-GKY as one of the component of NRLM was evaluated. DDU-GKY program design lets the program carry out in depth three tier monitoring by Project Implementing Agencies, State and Central Technical Support Agencies. Review of program implementation with States and Project Implementing Agencies is carried out regularly for achieving the desired outcome of the program.
This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Pushpavant Sharma, IIS passes away
Another senior officer of the Indian Information Service, Shri Pushpavant Sharma succumbed to Covid infections today. He breathed his last at the Jaypee Hospital, Noida this morning after a prolonged battle with his illness. He was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 and Asthma in various hospitals for last two weeks.
58 years old Pushpavant Sharma, Deputy Director, was posted as Assistant Press Registrar in the office of Registrar of Newspapers of India. During his illustrious career of over 34 years in IIS, he served in various media units under Ministry of I&B including PIB , DFP , AIR News , DD News . He had also served as president of IIS Association .He is survived by his wife and two sons.
Senior Officials in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting have condoled the death of Pushpavant Sharma. The officer will be remembered for his professional competence and dedication to public service.
Earlier this month, three other senior IIS officers Narendra Kaushal , Manikant Thakur  and Sanjay Kumar  succumbed to COVID complications.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Change in Medical Expenditure Patterns
As per the National Health Accounts estimates, the Out-of-Pocket Expenditure  as a percentage of Current Health Expenditure, during the latest four years for which data is available is as follows:
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|
Year
|
|
OOPE as a percent of Current Health Expenditure
|
|
2013-14
|
|
64.2%
|
|
2014-15
|
|
62.6%
|
|
2015-16
|
|
60.6%
|
|
2016-17
|
|
58.7%
Out of the total number of persons seeking healthcare, more than 94% seek Outpatient care. In Out-patient care, percentage of drugs and diagnostics expenditure as a proportion of outpatient medical expenditure is more than 70%.
As per Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India  Annual Report 2018-19, the number of persons having health insurance increased from 28.80 Cr in 2014-15 to 48.20 Cr in 2017-18.
Based on projected population, the percentage change is 23.25% to 37.55% during the above period.
Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana  launched by the Government of India on 23.9.2018, provides health coverage of Rs. 5.00 lakh per family per year, for secondary and tertiary hospitalization to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families . This will substantially increase the percentage of population under health insurance coverage.
It may also be mentioned that, in addition, through the National Health Mission , Government of India supplements the efforts of the State/UT Governments to provide accessible, affordable and quality healthcare to all those who access public health facilities, especially in rural areas. NHM support is also provided for provision of a host of free services related to maternal health, child health, adolescent health, family planning, universal immunization programme and control of communicable and non-communicable disease. Further under NHM, Free Drugs and Free Diagnostics service initiatives, and PM National Dialysis Programme are being implemented to provide free essential medicines, diagnostics and dialysis services in public health facilities, thereby providing healthcare services even without insurance cover.
As per the Economic Survey 2019-20, General Government  expenditure on health as a percent of GDP in India during the last five years is as follows:
|
|
Year
|
|
General Government expenditure on health as percentage of GDP
|
|
2019-20
|
|
1.6%
|
|
2018-19
|
|
1.5%
|
|
2017-18
|
|
1.4%
|
|
2016-17
|
|
1.4%
|
|
2015-16
|
|
1.3%
The Minister of State , Sh Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.
Ministry of Railways
Sizeable growth in freight traffic in ER's Malda Division
• Record Freight Loading in ER during 2020-21
Kolkata, April 5, 2021
Eastern Railway ’s Malda Division has achieved a praiseworthy growth in freight traffic during the financial year 2020-21. The total freight loading in the division during 2020-21 increased to 15.089 Million Tonnes in comparison to 13.753 Million Tonnes in the previous financial year, thus achieving a growth of 9.72 %.
The Stone Loading in ER’s Malda Division improved by 33.80%, which is 7.462 MT compared to 5.577 MT during the corresponding period of previous year, whereas Cement loading improved by 16.99, Fly Ash loading went up by 43.28% and loading of other commodities improved by 23.54% in 2020-21 in comparison to previous year.
ER’s Malda Division has also achieved the highest ever loading of 36 rakes  in a single day on March 31, 2021 compared to previous best record of 33 rakes  on March 31, 2019.
ER in total has also achieved a record freight loading of 67.86 Million Tonnes during 2020-21 surpassing the previous best of 67.64 Million Tonnes in the year 2018-19.
Prime Minister's Office
PM greets people on start of Kharchi Puja
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has greeted the people on the start of Kharchi Puja.
In a tweet, the Prime Minister said;
“Greetings on the start of Kharchi Puja. May the blessings of Chaturdash Devata always remain upon us. May everyone be blessed with wonderful health, success and prosperity.”
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Shri Piyush Goyal reviews progress of construction activities at Pragati Maidan, Delhi which is being redeveloped into a world class IECC
Union Minister of Railways & Commerce & Industry Shri Piyush Goyal today reviewed the progress of construction activities at Pragati Maidan in Delhi which is being redeveloped into a world class Integrated Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre . Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Shri H.S.Puri, Principal Advisor to the Prime Minister,Shri PK Sinha, Officers from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, ITPO, NBCC, and other agencies involved in the activity took part in the virtual meeting.
After going through the presentations and videos on the status of the construction activities, Shri Goyal expressed satisfaction over the progress, as all the critical activities are under control. Construction activities, which had suffered earlier due to lockdown and subsequent migration of labour, gained momentum in June, and the same is being maintained. About 4800 workers are presently engaged in various activities at the site. Most of the buildings are likely to be completed by March 2021. The handing over of the buildings is likely to begin soon in a phased manner, and the complete project is likely to be handed over by October, 2021. The site will have 6 underpasses and a main tunnel for smooth movement of traffic in the region. The AC system shall be Covid-19 pliant, there will be adequate availability of power, the buildings will be leak-proof and the drainage system will ensure no waterlogging under any circumstance. As part of the Aatamnirbhar Abhiyan, the imported element in the project is being continuously reduced, and it presently stands at just 9.55% of the project cost.
The redevelopment of Pragati Maidan as a modern, up-to- date centre for holding global conferences and exhibitions , will include creation of a modern Convention Center with seating capacity of 7,000 persons. India is expected to host G-20 Summit in 2022, and this IECC will the main venue for the same.
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Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
States express desire to expedite early notification of Ecologically Sensitive Area of Western Ghats.
Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar today interacted with Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers & State Government Officers of six states viz, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu through Video Conference to discuss issues relating to notification of Ecologically Sensitive Area  pertaining to Western Ghats.
To conserve and protect the bio diversity of Western Ghats while allowing for sustainable and inclusive development of the region, Government of India had constituted a High Level Working Group under the Chairmanship of Dr. Kasturirangan. The Committee had recommended that identified geographical areas falling in the six States of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu may be declared as Ecologically Sensitive Areas. A draft notification was issued in October 2018 mentioning the areas to be notified in the ESA.
States were of unanimous view that looking into the importance of Western Ghats, there is need to ensure protection of the western Ghats. However, the states expressed their views as regards activities and extent of area mentioned in the said notification. It was decided that state specific issues shall be further deliberated so as to arrive at a consensus on the issue. The states expressed their desire to expedite early notification while protecting interest of ecology and environment.
https://twitter.com/PrakashJavdekar/status/1263443091882512384?s=20